HDB's Reply

HDB will ensure adequate supply of eating houses in HDB estates
Date: 01 Jul 2022

建屋局会确保组屋区有足够食肆

谨答复《联合早报·交流站》于6月23日刊 登的林建成读者投函《不能任由市场经济 影响民生》：  

我们感谢林先生的反馈。 为了给居民提供负担得起的食物选择，建 屋发展局会确保每个组屋区和市镇都有足够的 食肆，以保持良性的价格竞争。本地目前有 772家由建屋局建造的食肆，其中372家由建 屋局出租，400家为私人拥有。有34家食肆在 过去四年落成，另30家食肆则会在未来四年完 工。  

本地共有100多个小贩中心，政府也在建造 更多的小贩中心——四个新的小贩中心将于今 年开始营业，另有七个正在规划或兴建中。 

私人拥有的食肆是在买卖双方你情我愿 的基础上交易的。为遏止投机炒作，建屋局 自1998年起便停止出售食肆。所有新建的食 肆现在都由建屋局出租，租期一般为三年， 并可续租。2018年，建屋局推出“价格与素 质准则”（Price-Quality Method），不仅以 标价，也以计划书的素质和营业记录，来评 估有意向当局租用食肆的业者。素质分数占 评估的50%，根据这一评分系统，提供负担 得起的食物选择的业者，得分会比较高。过 去五年，建屋局出租的食肆租金中位数一直 保持稳定。 

虽然摊位租金是食肆业者与个别摊主之间 的私人合同协议，但维持合理的租金以留住摊 主，符合业者的商业利益。如果租金太高， 摊主可能会搬到附近的其他食肆，导致摊位空 置，而业者则须承担持有成本。同样，摊主在 制定熟食价格时，通常也会参考附近的其他食 肆，以吸引食客，保持竞争力。 

建屋局会继续观察食肆业者的表现，并确 保有足够的食肆，让居民能够继续享有负担得 起的食物选择。 

建屋发展局
处长（政策与规划）
何康玮

We refer to Mr Lin Jian Cheng’s letter “不能任由市场经济影响民生” on 23 June 2022 and thank him for his feedback.


To provide residents with access to affordable food options, HDB ensures that there is a good supply of eating houses in every HDB estate and town to maintain healthy price competition. There are presently 772 HDB-built eating houses, of which 372 are rented out by HDB and 400 are privately-owned. 34 eating houses were completed in the last 4 years, and another 30 eating houses will be completed in the next 4 years. There are over a hundred hawker centres in Singapore, and the Government is building more - 4 new centres will begin operations this year, with another 7 being planned or under construction.


Privately-owned eating houses are transacted on a willing-buyer-willing-seller basis. To deter speculation, HDB has discontinued the sale of eating houses since 1998. All new eating houses built are now rented out by HDB, typically on a tenancy term of 3 years, with the option for renewal. In 2018, HDB introduced the Price-Quality Method, where prospective eating house operators renting from HDB are assessed not just on their price bids, but also on the quality of their offerings and track records. Quality score counts for 50% of the evaluation, and operators with affordable food options will be awarded higher points under this scoring system. The median rent for eating houses tenanted out by HDB has remained stable for the past five years.


While the stall rental rate is a private contractual agreement between the eating house operator and individual stallholders, it is in the operator’s business interest to keep the rents of their stalls reasonable to retain their stallholders. If the rents are too high, stallholders could move to other nearby eating establishments, resulting in vacant stalls and holding costs for the operator. Similarly, stallholders will usually also benchmark their cooked food prices to other eating establishments in the vicinity to attract diners and remain competitive.


HDB will continue to monitor the eating house operators’ performance and ensure that there are adequate eating houses available, so that residents can continue to enjoy affordable food options.


He Kangwei
Director (Policy & Planning)
Housing & Development Board

Letter to Lianhe Zaobao

Should not allow market forces to affect daily living
Date: 23 Jun 2022

From: 林建成

交流站：
不能任由市场经济影响民生


继淡滨尼21街第201座咖啡店以4168万元易手后，义顺81街第848座的咖啡店，也将以4000万元易手。市场力量是一只无形的手，在崇尚自由经济的当儿，我们不能任由市场经济影响民生，这是一个原则性的问题。倘若政府之前没有出台印花税政策，提醒人们低息时代已过去，许多中产阶级就可能会被日益增加的房贷，压得喘不过气。


为了减轻人们应付俄乌战争等因素所带来的万物腾涨，政府先后多次发放了社区发展理事会邻里购物券。然而，如果任由人们炒卖咖啡店，随着咖啡店易手，摊位租金一定飙涨，吃亏的还是老百姓。咖啡店和小贩中心是一般民众的食堂；自从职总富食客（NTUC Foodfare）收购了咖啡店集团（Kopitiam Group），成为一个庞大的饮食集团，加上职总平价，它们在稳定物价方面，扮演着关键角色。


所谓“上有政策、下有对策”，我们不能任由市场力量来主宰一切。要不是当初政府征用多幅私人土地，兴建组屋，我们平民百姓，才得以安居乐业。新加坡是我们的土地，为了捍卫它，我们有强大的国防力量。同样的，如果因为咖啡店的炒卖，而失去民心，将来所付出的政治代价，可能会很大。

Referencing the recent high resale prices for coffeeshops in Tampines and Yishun, a ZB forum writer viewed that market forces should not be allowed to affect daily living. She cited Government measures such as CDC vouchers to help Singaporeans cope with the rise in prices of food and goods brought about by the Russia-Ukraine war. She noted that if nothing is done about the speculation of coffeeshops, rents will spike and residents will ultimately suffer. The writer emphasised that we should not be at the mercy of market forces. There could be grave implications if the speculation of coffeeshops results in Singaporeans’ loss of trust in the Government.